These are the 28 Companies That Just Pledged to Pay Men and Women Equally

They took the White House's Equal Pay Pledge.

We know that President Obama is a (self-proclaimed) feminist: In his eight years in office, he’s made many moves — including signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and introducing the Paycheck Fairness Act — to work toward equal pay for men and women. And now, he’s challenging others to join him — specifically, all businesses across America.

At this week’s United State of Women Summit, the White House announced, ) a new Equal Pay Pledge, calling on private sector companies to take action in closing the pay gap between men and women. According to the White House's website, women working full-time make an average of 79 cents for every dollar a man working full-time earns. That gap is even greater for African-American and Latina women, who earn 64 cents and 56 cents, respectively, for every dollar a white, non-Hispanic man earns. “This significant gap is more than a statistic — it has real life consequences,” the White House states on its website. "When women, who make up nearly half the workforce, bring home less money each day, it means they have less for the everyday needs of their families, and over a lifetime of work, far less savings for retirement.”

Companies taking the pledge must agree to a statement that calls out the disparity in pay between men and women — despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which has an unfortunate loophole that allows higher pay for men if it’s based on “any factor other than sex.” Those signing the equal pay pledge also must commit to “conducting an annual company-wide gender pay analysis across occupations; reviewing hiring and promotion processes and procedures to reduce unconscious bias and structural barriers; and embedding equal pay efforts into broader enterprise-wide equity initiatives.”

So far, 28 private companies have stepped up and accepted the challenge, including Airbnb, Amazon, Gap Inc., L’Oréal USA, Pinterest, Rebecca Minkoff, and Spotify. Each company has made a public statement on why it took the pledge, all of which have been published on the White House's blog. “While progress has been made in the fashion industry, we pledge to work to empower future generations of female entrepreneurs by providing them with equal opportunities in our organization,” the statement from Rebecca Minkoff reads. “We will continue to support our female employees by ensuring that they earn 100% of men’s wages within our company.”

Spotify’s statement reminded us of the difficulties women in tech face. “We acknowledge that women are often dissuaded by roles in technology not only due to the low representation of women in this industry but of the lower value placed on their contributions in these roles,” the statement reads. “In tech, women are promoted at lower rates and paid significantly less. Our support of the Women in Tech industry goes beyond just closing this pay gap, we actively partner, sponsor, and contribute to ours and other organizations who are focused on ensuring women are encouraged into STEM careers and feel valued in making that choice.”

Gap Inc., which in 2014, became the first Fortune 500 Company to announce they pay male and female employees equally for equal work on average, stated, “When we pay our employees fairly and treat them with dignity and respect, they are inspired to be their best, which in turn helps us deliver better products and experiences to our customers. And when our business succeeds and grows, we can become a stronger voice for equality and inclusion around the world.”

The retail giant also justly noted, “We believe pay equality should not be an accomplishment; it’s the way the world should work and it’s time to get it done.”

See the entire list of companies who have taken the Equal Pay Pledge — and read their statements — here.